


Vitals

by katikat



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 17:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14061387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katikat/pseuds/katikat
Summary: It takes a while to get them out of the wreck. Missing scene from episode 204. Jack’s POV. (Unbeta'd)





	Vitals

**Author's Note:**

> I’m no doctor or medic or anything like that. Watch me gloss over medical procedures like a pro, huzzah!

It takes a while to get them out of the wreck.

First, the firemen pull out Cage who slithers out easily and with the grace of a trained contortionist, Jack has to admit. Then, they start working on them. And that’s when they hit a snag because a part of the bodywork that kept them all protected got warped by the blast and it’s now lying right across both him and Mac.  _Great_.

The EMTs take their vitals and ask them questions while the firemen discuss the best way to cut the beam. They both feel fine, he and Mac, a little battered and a little bruised but quite well, considering. Jack can’t wait to finally get out because he’s getting a painful crick in the neck. And Mac’s been awfully quiet ever since Murdoc grabbed Fletcher and ran. Jack doesn’t like it at all, Mac quiet like that.

But that’s not  _all_ that worries Jack. The thing is, from his position, lying feet first towards the front of the vehicle, he can see what the firemen and the EMTs are doing. And right now, they’re all huddled together, whispering while looking grim and throwing surreptitious glances over in their direction.  _What’s going on here?_

Jack’s about to ask Mac - when in doubt, always ask the kid, that’s his motto - when the firemen come back and start prepping their tools and them, too… and all the while, the EMTs hover close by which only makes Jack’s anxiety shoot through the roof. A second later, though, the almost painfully loud screech of the saw chases away all Jack’s questions.

And then the beam’s off and they’re finally free and–

A startled, confused whisper. “I don’t-I don’t feel so good…”

–and Jack’s eyes widen in alarm when the EMTs and the firemen -  _everyone_! - get moving fast. They rush forward and pull Mac out of the wreck, and handing him over, they set him down on a stretcher and hustle him away, towards the waiting ambulance that sets off with a deafening wail almost before the back door’s properly slammed shut…

“Mac!”

* * *

Internal bleeding. That’s what it was. Internal. Fucking. Bleeding.

While Jack was lying there, annoyed with Murdoc and with the world in general, complaining quietly about a goddamn  _crick_ in his neck, MacGyver was bleeding internally, the worst of it kept in check by that heavy piece of metal lying across his stomach. But Mac’s vitals told the EMTs what was going on and they knew, everyone out there working on getting them out knew, that the moment they lifted that beam off Mac, the kid would go downhill fast. And he did. From what Jack heard, Mac crashed in the ambulance on his way to the hospital. 

And now Jack’s sitting here, in the brightly lit waiting room, bandaged, stitched and smelling of disinfectant, with his head in his hands because it’s been hours now, hours and  _hours_ since they took Mac into the surgery and there’s still no word. No news is good news in this case, he tells himself but it’s hard to believe.

He’s still sitting there - he’s barely moved the whole time - and his mind is full of worry and fear, no,  _dread_ , thoughts running in circles, running in circles,  _running in circles_ , when Matty arrives with Riley and Bozer in tow, escorted by Cage who’s delt with the cops and their intrusive questions, giving non-replies while still replying and leading the hapless detectives on a merry chase like the skilled interrogator she is. Jack’s grateful to her. If it were up to him, he would’ve bitten their heads off and ended up in jail.

“You alright?” Matty asks in a soft, concerned voice, in a voice she never uses unless the situation’s truly dire. It makes Jack’s heart clench even harder.

“No,” he answers her truthfully, too anxious to lie. “Matty, if he doesn’t make it, if he dies–”

She reaches out and squeezes his arm. He must look truly terrible if she goes that far. “He’ll be alright, Jack. I’m sure the doctors are doing their best. He  _will_ pull through,” she tells him fiercely.

And Jack’s glad, thankful for her support. But he also knows that she can’t promise him this. And she wasn’t there when they pulled Mac out of the wreck, she didn’t hear how faint his voice sounded, she didn’t see how his face turned from pale to white to gray in a matter of seconds…

He hides his face in his hands, praying like he’s never prayed before.  _Please, God, just… please! Please…_

When the doctor comes out and tells them that Mac made it, that he survived the surgery, that they managed to repair all that had gone wrong inside him, Jack’s relief is so deep, so  _profound_ that he feels almost light-headed. There’s a loud buzzing in his ears and his hands start to tremble and as he sits there with his eyes squeezed shut, he realizes he thought, he truly thought that this would be it. That this time, Mac would die on him…

 _Jesus_.

* * *

When they settle Mac in the ICU, they allow only one of them to visit him and only for a moment, too. Nobody argues about who that person will be.

The kid looks almost…  _faded_ to Jack and entirely too young for this shit. Once again, Jack realizes how much better off Mac would be at some university or locked up in some lab, safe and sound, not chasing terrorists and being chased by creepily obsessive madmen. Still, maybe Jack’s selfish but he wouldn’t give up a single moment they spent together in the field.

Jack stands there, by the bed, staring down at Mac, at all the tubes and wires and blinking machines surrounding him, and a mantra of  _“he’s okay, he’ll be just fine, he’s okay…”_ is running through his head, over and over again. And when they come to kick him out, he tells them no.

“You know what did this, doc?” he asks the woman the nurse called in when he refused to budge and points at Mac, who’s lying unconscious and  _vulnerable_ in his hospital bed. “It was no ordinary car wreck, let me tell you. It was a psycho - with a  _rocket launcher_. The same psycho who  _kidnapped_ and  _drugged_ the kid only hours before. Mac’s alive only because that creep  _felt_ like it. I’m his bodyguard, I’m responsible for his well-being, and if you think I’m gonna let him out of my sight any time soon, think again.”

They argue, back and forth in soft, very soft voices, two stubborn minds clashing together. Fortunately, Director Webber steps in in the end, _Matty the Hun_ doing her nickname justice, and Jack’s allowed to stay. Out of the way, tucked away in a corner, silent and unobtrusive, but he can stay. Jack’s never been so grateful for Matty’s sharp tongue and even sharper mind.

And so Jack’s there when Mac wakes up, hours and hours later, he’s there when Mac’s eyes flutter open and he looks around, confused, unsure and foggy, frowning and licking his lips.

“Hey, kid,” Jack whispers very quietly, touching Mac’s hand to get his attention.

Mac blinks at him slowly. “J-ack?” he croaks out.

And Jack just nods, eyes full of tears and throat thick with emotions. Because Mac’s back, he’s back, he’s alive, he’s  _there_!

“Wha happ’n?” Mac asks hoarsely as his eyes slide back shut again.

Jack smiles and replies, “So many things, buddy. I’ll tell you all about it later.” 

Because Mac’s already asleep again. But that’s okay. They’ll have enough time to talk when he wakes up again. All the time in the world.


End file.
